By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
What was unusual about this particular day was that it is the only time in our lives that we will be celebrating the 250th birthday of our nation, and we did so by swapping video stories that had spoken to us over the weekend. So, over my coffee and Mayor Ronnie’s Sun Drop, we laughed, got misty-eyed, and literally thanked God together that we are alive, still kickin’, and have been brought to the Kingdom “for such a time as this.”
At a Chicago White Sox game, 103-year-old Sgt. Steve Silosky was honored by tossing out a ceremonial first pitch. He had to be helped out of his wheelchair, but he stood and delivered an underhand pitch, and yes, “the crowd went wild.” He served in the U.S. Army in the Pacific Theater, and was part of an Amphibious Tractor Battalion. By contrast, the story of Marion Horn, which was recorded in 1995 illustrates that kindness was ultimately more powerful than cruelty. She was just a kid in what was then Yugoslavia when the Germans were leaving and the Italians were coming. The Nazis had been ordered to kill everyone and had the machine guns set up and ready to fire. The Italians arrived, and essentially said, “You go, we’ll take care of them.” The word “care” had two completely different meanings in that moment. Little Marion, not knowing what was going to happen, went over to the truck marked “cucina,” and told the cook that they were all so hungry. “Little one,” he said as he tousled her hair, “I’ll cook you spaghetti.” Marion came to America, the land of the free, the home of the brave, a place where Italian food is part of the Great Melting Pot, and here in Athens we will soon have our own Olive Garden Restaurant.
The mayor had attended the 100th birthday celebration of Robie Daly, a woman who is fun, kind, still lives at home by herself, and he assured me that she gets checked on three times a day. She also received a proclamation stating that June 27, 2026 had been designated as Robie Daly Day. Again, another once-in-a-lifetime celebration.
We are in the midst of the filming of Houdini, which Mayor Ronnie with a satisfied grin described simply as a “fun story about a magic show, a boy and a dog.” (To learn how Athens has gotten behind this family-friendly film project, see page 3.)
Over the years, as part of the Ronnie column, we have read and discussed various books, and it’s one of my favorite parts of doing the paper. For our next series, the mayor reached back to an old favorite that was first published in 1987 and is going to be our next “book club” selection. It’s called In Pursuit of Happiness, and I’ll finish with this quote:
It’s risky to write a book about happiness. Happiness is out of style. Happiness is superficial. Happiness is for little kids. Happiness is not serious enough for anyone over the age of 12. And yet, our forefathers (and mothers) thought it was serious enough to include in the Declaration of Independence.
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, that is what we thanked God for when we prayed, and then it was time for Ronnie to roll.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
